Amended draft law on fraud to get second review next week

Members of the public have suggested that tougher punishment be handed out to online fraudsters, and a system be established to help their victims, a senior legislator said on Friday.

The suggestions were made after a draft version of an anti-telecom and online fraud law was first reviewed by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the country's top legislature, in October.

Yue Zhongming, spokesman for the NPC Standing Committee's Legislative Affairs Commission, told media on Friday that the draft received a total of 28,599 suggestions from 13,441 people between Oct 23 and Nov 21.

"This demonstrates the public's interest in this legal document, as well as their concern over telecom and online fraud," he said.

"Many people supported us in devising the law, saying that such legislation is both urgent and necessary," he said, adding that the main suggestions included calling for lawmakers to increase punishments for fraudsters, including those selling fraudulent devices.

"They also suggested that banks and online enterprises provide more fraud-alert information and offer rewards to encourage people to report suspected cases," he said.

"Additionally, they suggested that the country set up a system or take measures to help those who have suffered from telecom and online fraud, to diminish their financial losses as much as possible," he said.

He added that lawmakers had studied all the suggestions about the draft, and some are expected to be accepted in the next version of the draft.